Scalpel blade holder

Claim 1

A scalpel blade holder for holding a scalpel blade having a blade portion near the anterior thereof and a blunt portion near the posterior thereof, a substantially elongated first hole near the blunt portion of said scalpel blade, said first hole having a first length and a first width with said first length being parallel to the direction from the anterior to the posterior; a substantially elongated second hole anterior to and coextensive with said first hole, said second hole having a second length parallel to and collinear with said first length, and a second width smaller than said first width, said holder comprising: an elongated handle member having a length, a width, and a thickness; said member having a distal end and a proximal end along said length; an elongated support member connected to said handle member and being an integral part thereof, near said distal end of said handle member; said support member having a groove along its periphery, parallel to said length direction, wherein the width of said support member between said groove is substantially equal to said second width of said blade, and wherein the length of said support member is less than the sum of said first and second lengths of said blade; a slidable member in said handle member, movable along said thickness direction, said slidable member having a width substantially equal to the first width of said blade and positioned in said handle member such that the distance from the proximal end of said slidable member to the groove at the distal end of said support member is substantially the same as the sum of said first and second lengths of said blade; and means for locking said slidable member in said thickness direction between a first position and a second position, wherein said first position said slidable member is above the plane of the groove, and in said second position said slidable member is just below the plane of the groove.